ProtonCoin rumours are “unsubstantiated” says firm

Over the last few days rumours have been circulating across social media and various crypto publications suggesting ProtonMail are exploring the idea of Initial Coin Offerings to raise funds for their project ProtonCoin.

These rumours were based on the firm registering the domain name ProtonCoin.com back in 2017 and more recently the launch of the website last month.

The website ProtonCoin.com says it wants to fulfill several goals, some of which include enabling the public to participate in the growth of ProtonMail, increase privacy and security and decentralise the organisation.

ProtonMail surprisingly quashed the rumours via a Reddit post on the official Subreddit saying they were “unsubstantiated” and “have made no announcements on this topic”. They also went on to also confirm that the domain ProtonCoin.com was owned by them.

The post further explains that ProtonMail has registered multiple domains to protect their trademark and it should not be taken literally or suggest that they are signalling an immediate ICO launch.

Despite this clarification the Reddit post still leaves many questions unanswered. On one hand you have a ProtonMail owned website that is explaining the benefits of implementing blockchain technology whilst on the other an official statement that downplays this message.

It gets even more confusing reading the questions and responses on the Reddit post, as it has been uncovered that ProtonMail recently posted that they have sought advice from the Swiss government on tokenising the company stock, specifically on the blockchain (also known as equity crowdfunding) not a traditional ICO.

Despite dabbling in the benefits of blockchain technology and funding avenues it seems nothing is certain at the moment and ProtonMail are not ready to go public with their blockchain related endeavours, if any.

Every day there is another story about an organisation reaping the rewards of blockchain technology, however there aren’t many with the reputation of the UK government.

Thus, the news that the government are investigating the use of blockchain for record sharing within The National Archives could be a massive boost for advocates of the technology.

The Archives is renowned for being a standard setter in its area, so it is hoped that this research will give a wider understanding of blockchain technology to Archives and Memory Institutions (AMIs) throughout the world.

The research, which is entitled Archangel, is a collaborative project and involves the likes of the University of Surrey and the Open Data Institute.

It is being funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, with the key idea being to check how useful blockchain can be for managing extensive archives.

Alex Green, who is the Archives’ digital preservation services manager, wrote a blog about the research this week.

In it, he wrote the following: “How can we demonstrate that the record you see today is the same record that was entrusted to the archive 20 years previously?”

“How do we ensure that citizens continue to see archives as trusted custodians of the digital public record? To address these questions, Archangel is exploring how we can know that a digital record has been modified and whether the change was legitimate so that ultimately it can still be trusted as the authentic record”

He added: “Specifically, the project is investigating how blockchain might be used to achieve this.”

Everyone has been talking about the upcoming Bitcoin Pizza Day, marking the anniversary of the first documented real-world Bitcoin transaction. Well, the big day is finally here, each year thousands of crypto-enthusiasts celebrate this historic event that took place eight years ago today which seen programmer Laszlo Hanyecz purchase two pizzas for a cool 10,000 Bitcoin, worth only $41 dollars at the time, today that would be more than $80 million dollars.

There are plenty of ways to celebrate the occasion from making your own Pizza, this frying pan recipe is super easy, if you live in Manchester, UK, Papa John’s accepts Bitcoin! If you’re not feeling cheesy then hardware wallet firm Ledger, have released a limited edition device called the “Nano S Pizza Day” which comes with all the same features as the original Nano S but Pizza’d up with a cool red body and chrome finish, each box is customised and signed by an employee.

The Ledger Nano S Pizza Day units are flying out the oven, with only 1,337 units available to order.

Despite early investors making impressive gains with Bitcoin, and many experts predicting that the cryptocurrency will reach as much as $50,000 this year, opinions continue to be divided, with its future as a currency and an investment solution faltering. The project’s ageing architecture and lack of innovation are central in this debate and continue to drive investors and enthusiasts alike into more exciting and innovative projects that are built on more able and scalable blockchain platforms.

Why trust us? Last year we tipped HelloGold, Cindicator, VeChain, Tronix, Request Network, and Utrust as projects to keep your eye on. See for yourself here.

With that in mind here are a few upcoming ICOs to keep your eyes on in 2018.

Databroker DAO

Governments, researchers, companies and individuals are currently maintaining roughly 6 million IoT sensors worldwide, with this number rapidly growing every day. The data collectively generated is worth an estimated $600 billion per year and is simply sitting in storage, locked away.

Blockchain startup Databroker DAO aims to unlock and monetise this IoT sensor data by creating a marketplace for data to be bought and sold. In doing so, these entities can create new revenue streams whilst also making all industries across the board better informed and more effective.

Databroker DAO is planning a pre sale and public token sale, enabling investors to contribute directly. The sale starts on 26 March 2018 and will run until 23 April 2018.

It’s also worth noting that the CEO of Overstock sits on the advisory board alongside three other key advisors, putting the project in a good, well managed environment.

EQUI

EQUI aims to be a revolutionary investment platform by bringing venture capital into the modern world.

Powered by Blockchain technology, the platform enables anyone to combine funds and invest in sectors that have previously been accessible only to the rich. This is achieved by purchasing EQUI tokens which open up access to the platform to invest in approved projects. Projects that make a profit also offer a dividend, which is returned to investors via their Ethereum wallet.

EQUI is backed by a number of entrepreneurs with a wealth of experience across many business sectors. This Blockchain startup was co-founded by Baroness Mone of Mayfair, OBE, and Doug Barrowman.

Skyllz

Skyllz will change the way we access and manage employment in the near future.

With a rapidly growing technology sector that continues to dominate every other job market, the need for a better, more qualified workforce is no longer being met by traditional institutions. What is being taught and learnt in colleges and universities is becoming less relevant, with many opting for self-taught courses instead. This has become all the more popular with online universities, webinars, remote learning resources and YouTube.

Blockchain startup Skyllz hopes to tap into this gap in the market by creating an open source public skills validation platform to showcase, track and rate candidates. This immutable CV will reflect human-based metrics on a global scale that is based on actual skill.

The Skyllz team founded Workkola, an already fully working platform utilising the Skyllz technology.

The pre sale is scheduled for February to March, and the public main sale is going to happen between July and August 2018.

Skyllz has a strong team behind it with a range of advisors from multiple industries to drive the product forward.

Momentum

Momentum makes it easy for brands to create their own cryptocurrency to reward and incentivise customers. It claims to be the world’s first Blockchain-based automation platform that rewards customers with cryptocurrency.

Customers are rewarded for being loyal, telling friends about a product, leaving reviews etc. This creates an incentivised ecosystem where both company and buyer benefit. Customers earn tokens for marketing the brands they love, with the added bonus of trading, gifting or selling tokens on, all from one simple handy wallet.

Momentum spotted a gap in the market due to current loyalty programmes not rewarding customers, as the points have little to no value, expire quickly and sit on customers’ cards unused.

Momentum is already working with some big-name brands such as Burger King and Firelli and has seen a large increase in activity on its apps.

With Momentum already working with real companies, the ICO is the perfect opportunity to invest in an established project.

Nexo

Nexo aims to cater for a growing market of cryptocurrency enthusiasts who need access to fiat but don’t want to part with their cryptocurrencies.

Nexo plans to make this easier by offering people an instant overdraft secured by their own cryptocurrency assets. Customers simply import their cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin into their Nexo wallet, where they are provided with a fiat credit limit. Fiat currencies can be withdrawn using various methods, including bank transfer. It’s a win-win for both parties involved; once the overdraft has been paid back, customers can withdraw their cryptocurrency assets.

Nexo is one of our favourite ICOs this year. It’s been developed by the same people behind Credissimo, a leading FinTech group with a wealth of experience in the finance industry.

The Nexo token sale starts on 1 March 2018, with a fundraising goal of $50 million.

Jibrel Network focuses on bridging the gap between the crypto-economy and traditional financial infrastructure, enabling investors and users to store, send, receive and exchange assets for almost zero fees

Jibrel Network, one of the earliest Blockchain-technology startups, has just launched their token sale that will remain open to investors until 26 January 2018. The first decentralized platform to tokenize traditional financial assets such as currencies, bonds, equities and commodities on the Ethereum blockchain, Jibrel Network leverages the cost efficiencies associated with the digital assets’ storage and transaction. Launched earlier this year, they have already secured funding worth over USD 4.0 million from numerous international investors including TaaS Fund, Tech Squared, Aurora Partners, and Arabian Chain during the public token presale in September 2017.

Jibrel Network was founded to address crypto-economy’s need for regulated, safe and insured assets on the blockchain. With this goal, Jibrel Network built a team of experts specializing on the game changing concept of asset-backed tokens and smart regulations. The entire framework of Jibrel Network revolves around asset-backed tokens known as Crypto Depository Receipts (CryDRs). Utilizing these smart tokens, users will be able to carry out remittances, global payments, trading, and crypto-hedging. In order to ensure KYC and AML compliance of all token transfers on the Jibrel Network, CryDRs have also been regulation-embedded.

Highlighting the importance of the token sale, Hamzeh Kolaghassi, Operations Lead said: “ The adherence to financial regulations is the main key driver for sustained scalability, and Jibrel Network is taking all the necessary steps to ensure that our compliance is to the highest of global financial standards. We aim to partner with existing financial institutions, and more importantly, financial regulators and we are confident that this technology will become an integral part of business environments across the globe in the near future.”

Within its short lifespan, Jibrel Network has taken the role of a key innovator in their domain by creating a financial infrastructure that is expected to play a critical role in helping the industry advance. The company’s maiden product jWallet was launched earlier this month. This enterprise-grade crypto wallet solution is not only extremely reliable and user-friendly, but it also focuses heavily on maximizing user security.

The impressive show by Jibrel Network following its inception has brought together several distinguished figures from the financial and blockchain industries to support the development of the company as advisors. Particularly notable amongst them is Don Tapscott, a global leader in Blockchain and the author of Blockchain Revolution. He was named the world’s most influential leader in digital thinking, and the second-most influential living management thinker by Thinkers50. Other key advisors include Abbas “Eddy” Zuaiter (Ex-COO of Soros Fund), Ruslan Gavrilyuk (Founder of TaaS), Dr. Moe Levin (CEO of Keynote), Saul Hudson (Ex-GM of Thomson Reuters), and Mohammed Al Sehli (Founder of Arabian Chain).

Mentioned below are some of the key points related to the Jibrel Network token sale.

Accepted currencies are ETH and BTC

Accepted Fiat Currencies such as CHF, EUR, USD, GBP, DKK and SGD are also available on Bitcoin Suisse

Jibrel Network Token (JNT) to be offered at USD 0.25

The minimum and maximum investment limits are USD 50 and USD 850,000 respectively

The Jibrel Network provides traditional financial assets such as currencies, commodities, money-market instruments and futures as standard ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. The Jibrel Network is a Jibrel AG initiative. Jibrel AG is registered in Zug, Switzerland, Qubist Labs Inc is a software development company based out of New York, US.

Block Asset Management has launched what is recognised as the world’s first cryptocurrency and blockchain ‘fund of funds’.

Led by Manuel E De Luque Muntaner and Kevin Ballard, the firm was founded earlier this year. The team of financial experts contribute over 100 years of experience in a variety of banking, asset, fund and compliance industries.

The fund offers investors hassle free investment across a highly sought after portfolio of cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects which are strategically chosen and have a combined AUM exceeding $500m.

“After a year of global market research, we realised that interest in the blockchain/crypto space is extremely high”, said founder and COO, Kevin Ballard.

“We knew that many funds exist in the crypto space, but most would clearly not pass any comprehensive, serious due diligence. However, relying on Block Asset Management’s team, we successfully completed months of extensive analysis of dozens of funds and eventually approved the best funds for inclusion in our fund”, said De Luque Muntaner, Block Asset Management’s CEO.

Investor demand in combination with early stage adoption of blockchain technology is what Block Asset Managment believe will dramatically increase its portfolios value.

The Fund’s management company, Block Asset Management S.à.r.l., is domiciled in Luxembourg and registered with the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).

XBT Provider AB has announced a custodial partnership with Xapo, a firm well know across the cryptocurrency industry revolutionising the possibility of spending cryptocurrency via traditional debit cards.

Bitcoin held in cold storage on behalf of investors in XBT Provider’s ETN will now be secured by Xapo.

XBT Provider has surpassed $100 million in assets under management.

“The team of professionals at XBT Provider has deep expertise in digital currency and extensive experience in financial services. We are excited to partner with them as they make bitcoin broadly available to investors outside of the U.S.,” said Wences Casares, CEO of Xapo.

XBT Provider recently announced their fund on the UK’s largest stock exchange Hargreaves Lansdown, giving investors the ability to purchase Bitcoin as an ETN.

A trial to pay Britain’s welfare claimants using blockchain technology has come under fire by the Open Data Institute.

The Department for Work and Pensions also know as DWP initiated initiated trials with GovCoin Systems earlier in June to pay benefits directly to claimants using a Blockchain system, the same technology behind the decentralised currency Bitcoin.

The Open Data Institute founded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Sir Nigel Shadbolt said the system was ‘very concerning’.

The Blockchain provides both complete transparency and security of transactions but also opens up the ‘Big Brother’ discussion as it would allow the DWP to monitor every penny spent by claimants.

– ‘There are hundreds of Bitcoin millionaires out there, and it’s burning a hole in their pocket’

Font view of the $3 Million luxury villa

Fancy views of the beautiful Mediterranean coastline with the prime minister as your next door neighbour? Then maybe it’s time to move to Caesarea for a slice of your very own paradise.

The property owner is offering his luxury villa for sale at nearly $3 million, but wants the buyer to pay in Bitcoin.

The villa is located on the Mediterranean coast, in a quiet cul-de-sac in the exclusive Caesarea area, and boasts seven large bedrooms, five bathrooms and a safe room, not to forget the outdoor heated pool shaded by tropical palm trees.

The luxury property was listed on BitPremier last week, a high-end website for ‘astute buyers in the Bitcoin community’, where shoppers can find everything from super yachts to vintage cars and private islands, all purchasable with the cryptocurrency.

Potential buyers will be surrounded by the wealthy elite, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Valery Kogan, who has a cool net worth of nearly $2 billion and is a close friend of Vladimir Putin.

‘I want to make history by selling my property for Bitcoin. Whether the price goes up or down, I’m prepared to take the risk.

‘There are hundreds of Bitcoin early adopters who became multimillionaires literally overnight, and it’s burning a hole in their pocket.

‘The location is not the normal place for a holiday home for anyone from outside Israel, but the Caesarea coastline is a hidden gem.’

Bitcoin is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of any central control. The currency’s cryptographic features make it attractive to the tech savvy, and enable anyone to shop online without fear of censors or government regulation.

The cryptocurrency was trading at £218 on the exchange yesterday, and recently, companies like Dell, Virgin Galactic, Expedia and PayPal have offered customers the choice to pay with the digital currency.

ZipZap inc – one of the most promising startups within the digital currency sector has allegedly terminated operations in the UK.

Until recently the “Cash 4 Bitcoin” service allowed customers to purchase Bitcoins in exchange for cold hard cash at thousands of locations around the country but apparently due to ongoing problems with PayPoint (the company that manages the payment processing infrastructure behind ZipZap) cash deposits have been terminated until legal clarity around digital currencies is released by the UK government and Financial Conduct Authority.

ZipZap enabled customers to simply pop into one of 28,000 PayPoint participating shops across the United Kingdom and exchange cash for Bitcoins with minimal effort.

The launch of ZipZap was exciting news for the Bitcoin community for a number of reasons. It removed the risk of transferring funds to unlicensed exchanges in Europe, opened up the cryptocurrency up to a wider UK audience for easier adoption and made the process of buying Bitcoins as easy as topping up your phone with a voucher!

At the time of writing no public announcement has been issued by ZipZap, leaving the possibility of this exciting service uncertain.

An undisclosed source with close ties to the Bitcoin community recently stated:

Due to the ease of purchasing Bitcoins with cash, money laundering issues have arisen and are the culprit behind the services abrupt closure.

With no legislation in place, it is a shame that genuine UK businesses are being deprived of the opportunity to innovate and create better services for the British people.